updated 10:05 am EDT, Thu June 19, 2014

Android Wear notifications meant for glancing, different from smartphone notifications

Google has given more of an idea of what to expect from wearable devices running Android Wear, such as the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch. A video from Google Developers expands on an earlier YouTube clip about notifications for the smartwatch operating system, reiterating that there is "No work required" for smartphone notifications to exist in a basic fashion, though adding a few lines of code to apps will make the notifications more useful for users.

One aspect stressed in the video, spotted bySlashgear, is that Android Wear is designed to offer notifications to the user that can be glanced in "micro-interactions. The smartwatch is not meant to replace notifications and apps running on smartphones entirely, but is supposed to minimize the amount of time the user spends looking at their phone or opening individual apps.

Notifications on the watch can take one of three forms: Stacks, Pages, and Replies. Stacks bundle multiple notifications into one update, such as a list of received messages. Pages allows for a notification to spread across multiple screens, and can also be combined with Stacks. Replies are notifications that can be controlled by voice, offering actions based on predefined verbal responses or freeform text.

The video also reveals that all officially-licensed Google Wear devices need to have a microphone installed, and will also be able to monitor sensors in real time, such as from a fitness tracker.

Google is expected to release a full software development kit for Android Wear during the Google I/O developer conference.